"After the game, Frank Gore's emotion could not be tackled easily. Sort of like Frank Gore himself.

The man was pumped. He jogged to Candlestick Park's south end zone and raised his arms to screaming fans who'd stuck around to celebrate the 26-0 victory over St. Louis -- a victory that created a relevant 49ers' January for the first time since the 2002 season.

Did the last three months really happen? They did. Gore let out a whoop. He decided raising his arms wasn't enough, not on a day when he set the all-time 49ers career rushing record and also clinched his first playoff trip, ever.

And so Gore spontaneously grabbed a large 49ers flag, snatching it from Lucas Ortiz, a personal trainer from Mountain View who moonlights on weekends as one of those peppy-cheery-banner-running guys.

"Frank just ran up and took it away from me," Ortiz reported about his absent flag. "I wasn't going to stop him. He earned it.""